We live in the era of hype. The word, which bounces and bounds throughout the matrices of our information age, refers to a cultural product that has been so juiced up with marketing that its popularity takes off independently and regardless of its quality. It is the wrapping that matters: the advertisement is louder, more important and more real than what is advertised.
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In 1992, Neal Stephenson popularized the concept of a metaphorical avatar with his cyberpunk novel “Snow Crash.” In Stephenson’s world, an avatar is a digital image that stands in for a real person in virtual domains, such as the Internet, video games or role-playing games. To this list of irreal dimensions, we can add the world of American politics. During the first year of the Obama administration, it has become apparent that it wasn’t actually Barack Obama himself that participated in the elections: it was, rather, his avatar out there on the campaign trail.
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Avatar Obama is an immense hype, the product of a tremendous marketing campaign that has turned a real person into a symbolic shell. Avatar Obama is billboard and wrapping: pure brand name.
Angel Luis Lara | La Jornada (Mexico) - Translation: Ryan Croken